Opaque
by Raserei Hojo
Summary: A story of Cloud's relationship with Sephiroth and Zack. Pregame.
1. Loveless

**Title:** Opaque  
**Chapter:** Loveless  
**Author:** Raserei Hojo  
**Summary:** A story of Cloud's relationship with Sephiroth and Zack. Pre-game.  
**Rating:** T (Subject to change)  
**Feedback:** Very much so desired!  
**Story Warnings:** Yaoi  
**Pairings:** Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud  
**Disclaimer:** Any recognizable characters of Final Fantasy VII belong to Squaresoft. Any that are NOT recognizable belong to me.

Note: ...Does this make up for the extreme lack of updates?

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_Not good enough, not good enough!_

Two months in the army and that was all he ever heard anymore. He wasn't holding the sword right, he wasn't standing straight enough, he wasn't breathing the proper number of breaths in a minute. Everything that came out of Cloud's instructor's mouths was degrading. Not once had he been complimented, not once!

Grinding his teeth, he brought his training sword down with full force onto the straw dummy. He gave a smile of success as he watched the individual pieces of straw break apart and gently float to the ground.

"Hey, hey."

Cloud started, turning his head in the direction of the husky voice. His eyes instantly took in the picture of the tanned man walking gracefully towards him, his black spikes bouncing slightly, crystal blue eyes boring down onto the youth.

Cloud pursed his lips, taking note of the SOLDIER patch on the man's broad chest. He saluted and held his arms stiffly at his side, waiting for the heckling that would come. _Darn critiques_, he thought woefully. His fingers idly ran along the hilt of his training sword.

The SOLDIER laughed loudly, placing his hands on his hips and leaning forward. "You look a bit upset. Is everything going okay, Kid?"

Cloud sighed and brought his azure gaze to meet his superior's gaze. "Of course," he replied dismissively, "I'm having a great time."

"You just destroyed a dummy in one blow. You're either really good -- no offense or anything, or you're mad at someone and taking it out on a poor defenseless straw dummy." He tilted his head and smirked. "I pick option number two. Again, no offense."

"It's just..." Cloud had second thoughts. He couldn't confide in a SOLDIER, he'd just go and tell one of his instructors. "I'm sorry," he quickly shook his head. "Forget I said anything."

The man laughed again, shaking his head, those black locks of hair drifting into his face, shielding his eyes. "The name's Zack. No need to worry about me, I'd never tell those jerks about you. I've been watching you practice for some time. I think you're really good, but no one else here will admit it." He tossed the stray hairs aside.

Cloud blinked, surprised. "You really think so?"

Zack smiled. "Yeah, of course." He ran a hand through the mass of hair perched atop his head. "Tell you what. I'll take you out of one of your classes."

"But then I wouldn't have enough credits to advance!" Cloud protested, confused when Zack laughed again.

"Of course you would! I mean, I'll take you out of a class, and in return, put you into one of mine." He winked and jabbed his thumb at his chest. "I'm a kid short. Speaking of that, I never got your name. I guess I can't have you switched out of a class if I don't know your name."

"My name's Cloud Strife, Sir."

"I see. Well, my name isn't 'Sir'." He quirked an eyebrow. "At least, I don't remember telling you that it was. I thought I told you it was Zack."

"Well, you did, but I'm supposed to address all SOLDIERs as 'Sir'. It's the rule here, isn't it?"

"Nah, you can call me Zack. I won't tell anyone." Zack raised his right hand into the air. "I swear on all that my friends stand for."

That won a laugh from Cloud. "Well, alright. I guess it'd be fun to be in your class. You haven't patronized me. I'm sorry for misjudging you."

"Hey, now, don't worry about it!" He wrapped an arm around Cloud's neck. "So which class do you want to be taken out of?"

Cloud squirmed slightly. "This one would be great. I hate the instructor. It's the last class of the day and I just can't wait to get out of here."

"Oh, c'mon. I don't want you feeling that way about my class."

"I'm sure I wouldn't." Cloud offered a frail smile. "It's just that I don't like this teacher very much, that's all."

"Hey Zack, what are you doing hanging around a Rookie like that?" The voice was like silk, weaving through the sounds of clashing swords and falling straw.

Zack and Cloud turned and looked up. Zack grinned while Cloud's mouth dropped open in amazement.

Clad in black and silver armor, sturdy boots and a long trench coat, stood General Sephiroth himself. Liquid green eyes glanced at Cloud's mouth agape. A disgusted look crossed the General's pale face before he turned his gaze back to Zack. "Don't you have a class to be teaching?"

"Nope." Zack grinned and enthusiastically wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's rather petite waist.

Sephiroth's fingers grasped Zack's shoulders tightly, harshly shoving him away. Parts of Sephiroth's long silver hair fell over his shoulders as he glared at Zack. After a few moments he sighed and shook his head dismally. "I give up on you, honestly. I don't know how much longer I can stand being around someone so...hyper."

Zack elbowed Sephiroth gently in the ribs. "Oh, you know you love me. I'm the best friend you've got. You'll put up with me 'til the very end."

"That isn't written in stone, you know." Sephiroth walked the short distance over to Cloud, staring down at the new cadet, evaluating him. He took in all of the boy's aspects, including the Chocobo spiked hair, angelic face, short build, all of Cloud's muscles that weren't overly-bulky. A smile played across his lips for an instant before retreating to his eyes. "You must be Cloud."

After swallowing, Cloud slowly nodded. "Y-Yes," he stuttered. "How did you know?"

Sephiroth arched a slender brow. "It says so on your uniform."

Cloud's breath caught in his throat. He could feel the heat radiating from his face. He then oddly wondered if it was warm enough for the General to feel. The sword slipped through his fingers, though he didn't notice. His idol was staring down at him with emerald catlike eyes, regarding him to be a who-knows-what.

"It does?" Zack queried, bending over and pushing his face close to Cloud's chest, obstructing the youth's view of his idol. "Oh, wow, I feel stupid! I didn't even see that!" He straightened and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Zack?" Sephiroth questioned.

"Yes, Sephiroth?"

"You're a moron."

Zack hung his head in misery. "Yes, Sephiroth. I know." He glanced up at Sephiroth, and only he could see the amusement behind the calm demeanor Sephiroth was always sporting. If only Sephiroth would come out of his protective shell... Zack sighed and looked at Cloud. "Well, Cloud, I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow!"

Cloud blinked slowly at Zack. _If he goes, I'll be alone with... Sephiroth. What if I do something stupid?_

Zack patted Sephiroth on the back and trotted off towards the looming building of Shinra Inc.

_What if Sephiroth drills me and I don't know the answers to any of his questions! _Cloud continued his thoughts, staring almost fearfully at the legendary man before him.

Without another word, however, Sephiroth turned around, long silver hair swaying this way and that. He walked off in the same direction that Zack had gone just a few moments earlier, leaving Cloud feeling like a complete imbecile.

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The very next day, Cloud was sitting in a sweltering classroom with twelve other cadets, Zack up front teaching. Cloud's ball-point pen raced back and forth across a notepad. He had heard somewhere that it was important to copy down only key words and ideas, but he found that he was basically writing down every word that Zack uttered.

"Well, alright then!" Zack was cheerful despite the heat. "Time to pack up."

The other twelve students around Cloud happily and hurriedly gathered their things and raced out the door. Cloud was reluctant to leave though. "Are you sure class is over, Zack?" It felt odd calling a superior by their first name.

"Yep. The bell rang about five minutes ago. Don't you remember? I was keeping you guys here five extra minutes so I could finish up my explanation about proper sword handling."

"Oh... Guess I didn't notice."

"That's alright; we all get caught up in our thoughts, Cloud." Zack grinned and went to straightening up his desk. "You're welcome to stay if you'd like. I don't mind."

Cloud hesitantly dropped his things on the wooden desk. "Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to impose or anything..." He trailed off, lost for words.

Zack shook his head and offered another smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, Cloud. Teachers get lonely too, sometimes. But today is different." He dashed over to Cloud's desk and sat on it, leaning back on his palms slightly. "I have you to keep me company. I also have a friend who said he'd visit me after class. He should be here any minute."

"A friend...?"

"Oh, you know, tall guy, silver hair, jade kitty like eyes. You know. Oh, he goes by the name...Sephiroth?"

Cloud stared at him. "Seriously?"

Zack nodded. "Yep. He's my best friend, and sometimes I think I'm all he's got. Not to be egotistic or anything, but I think he'd go crazy without me. He may seem like a scary guy that everyone admires..." Zack leaned his face in close to Cloud's. "...But deep down, he's really sad and alone."

"Are you...trying to be funny? I don't know if I should laugh or be sad." Cloud unconsciously took a few steps back, away from Zack.

"Laugh at my joke! But Sephiroth really does have some social problems..."

Cloud fiddled with his collar instead. "I'm the one with social problems. He was just staring down at me like I was his prey or something. It kinda scared me. You know? He looked like he could kill me in an instant."

"He _could _kill you in an instant. Sephiroth's just nice like that. It takes a while to get Sephiroth to trust you. Even longer to get him to be nice to you." He laughed and smacked Cloud gently on the back. "I guess I still haven't gotten that far, eh?"

Cloud smiled and nodded. "I can't believe that someone in SOLDIER is so...human."

"Yeah, I know. But I also know how crappy it feels to be treated like dirt. You'll never believe how long it took me to get up to this rank!" He leaned close to Cloud's ear and continued, whispering. "I had to take the SOLDIER test fourteen times."

"I thought that you could only take it once a year!"

Zack gave Cloud one of his trademark grins. "Remember, now. I had Sephiroth as a buddy. Sephiroth was able to pull a few strings."

Cloud grew starry-eyed. "Really? Sephiroth did something like that?"

"Well, he almost didn't. See, Sephiroth is one of those people that get mad when you look at 'em too long. Maybe that's why that look crossed his face when you were staring. He hates that. But anyways, he didn't want to help at first. He had just become the General of the entire army, so I can see why. He didn't wanna lose such an awesome job! But he convinced good old President Shinra to give me another go. And then another one and another one...Whoops. I feel kinda silly now though. It wasn't so hard to pass that test, well, it was, but I know I could have done it, I was just so damn nervous!" Mischief danced in his eyes for a moment. "That was back when the President was young and slim like me."

Cloud laughed at the joke. He hadn't actually seen President Shinra, but he'd heard the rumors of the out-of-shape man. He just didn't seem to fit in with the well-built and muscular cadets of SOLDIER.

"Sorry I'm late," came the silky voice of Sephiroth. His words seemed to float through the air on their own. "My class was rowdy and I had to deal out their punishments accordingly." He walked into Zack's classroom, a bunch of papers in his arms, all carefully tied together with string.

"No sweat." Zack nodded, understanding how Sephiroth's students tended to act up. They had once all been Sephiroth's admirers, but after being around him for so long, they had lost their respect of the man and instead liked to torture him with their antics. "Oh! Cloud, do you wanna be in Sephiroth's class?"

"Who? Me? Me? In the Great General Sephiroth's class?"

"Yep! All you have to do is pass the SOLDIER test in the Fall. Sephiroth is the only one who is able to teach SOLDIERs. And he's a great teacher, if I do say so myself."

Sephiroth knitted his brows together and turned his calm yet malicious gaze towards Cloud. He warily examined the youth, wondering why Zack had taken a liking to the blonde boy. "So, Cloud's here," he stated callously. A simple observation, nothing more, nothing less.

"Yeah. It seems he likes my class. Imagine that." Zack rolled his eyes. "All the others left, but not Cloud. He's keeping me company." He kicked his legs out in front of him and jumped off the desk, standing up straight and running a hand through his hair. "He's such a nice little boy."

"Oh, I see."

"You know, uh, Sephiroth -- er, I mean, sir --"

"Just state what you want to say."

Cloud nervously played with a strand of his hair. "Well, I just, uhm, want to let you know that..."

"That you really admire me and you're just so glad you can be in my 'holy' presence."

Cloud quietly lowered his eyes, hoping that he hadn't angered Sephiroth. He hadn't meant anything mean by it, he truly did admire General Sephiroth. Perhaps he didn't like to be complimented, just like he didn't like to be stared at. _That seems understandable...I wouldn't want to be stared at like I was some kind of fish in a tank. I wonder if he took my compliment the wrong way._

"Don't worry about it, Cloud. Sephiroth's heard those lines so many times it's gotten on his nerves. But don't feel bad, now! I'm sure he really appreciates the thought!"

Sephiroth glared at Zack. "No I don't."

"Under that hard rocky surface, there's a good Sephiroth in there. Somewhere. You just gotta get to know him. And I've got the perfect place to do that! The three of us can go out tonight!"

"Zack, have you gone insane? I have work to do, and so do you. It's Friday night, the streets will be packed with freeloaders! Besides, I'm not in the mood to go to one of your excursions."

Zack simply rolled his eyes. "The whole point, Mr. Sephiroth, is that "it's Friday night". You said it yourself. We have the whole weekend to do our work, why not go out tonight?"

"No."

Cloud was anxious. He wanted to go as well. He imagined it would be fun with Zack, but without Sephiroth, it just wouldn't be the same. Of course, there was also the possibility of Cloud passing out with ecstasy if Sephiroth did, by some miracle, agree to go along.

Zack tugged playfully at Sephiroth's sleeve. "C'mon, Seph, it'll be fun! Please?"

Sephiroth stared at Zack with a peculiar expression plastered to his exquisite face. His eyes seemed much more distant than usual, penetrating Zack's begging gaze. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, but Zack wasn't sure if it was the beginning of a smile or not.

"I told you, Zack, I refuse." He ran his thin fingers through his thick silver hair, twirling the strands idly around his fingers. "How many times must I tell you?"

Zack sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cloud. It looks like he doesn't want to come with us after all. I know how much you would have liked for him to come. He's so evil sometimes! I mean, here he's given the chance to make your dream come true, and he turns it down as if it's nothing!"

Sephiroth sighed. "Zack, you're just going to end up getting drunk again. Then I'll have to drive you home. _Then _I'll have to carry you up all these stairs to get you to your room. If you bring Cloud along, he'll be drinking underage. That's two bodies for me to drag up these stairs. And I don't even know Cloud's Dorm number."

"328A," Cloud instantly answered. He felt his face turning red and he promptly hid the view with his hand.

"But you're big and strong, Seph. What's the big deal? Hey, wait a minute! President Shinra installed elevators _ages _ago!"

"The same elevators that don't work? The only ones that do work are the ones that take you up from the top staircase floor to the President's floor. You don't want to go there at three o'clock in the morning, do you?"

"Nope." Zack knew how cranky the President would be.

"That's what I thought." Sephiroth slowly closed his emerald eyes and knitted his slim brows together once more. He seemed to be having an internal conflict.

"Please, General Sephiroth? I know you don't like to hear people say this, but I've always wanted to spend at least a day with you!"

Sephiroth cracked open a jaded eye and looked squarely at Cloud. He suddenly looked so tired, it was chilling. "This will make you happy? If I accompany you and Zack?"

"Yes!" Cloud eagerly nodded. "The whole reason I came to Shinra was to be like you! So please come... Uhm... I-I mean...Uhm..." He slowly edged beside Zack in hopes of the older man backing him up.

"Pretty please, Sephiroth? There's some sugar coated chocolates in it if you agree!" Zack leaned close to Cloud's ear and whispered, "Sephiroth's got a huge sweet tooth. He'll never admit it though." He smirked knowingly at Sephiroth. "So what do you say?"

"...Alright. I'll go."

"Yes!" Zack twirled around and high-fived Cloud. "We've won the battle. And believe me, that was one of the most difficult battles you'll ever be in -- Sephiroth's so stubborn sometimes."

Cloud smiled. "This is gonna be a great night."

Sephiroth looked aside. "Just let me take my work up to my room." He nodded at the papers he had been holding. "I don't want to lose them. Wait here." He turned around and gracefully exited the room.

"Now Cloud, you don't have to drink if you don't want to. But if you do, feel free to! And don't feel strange just because you're a student of mine. I'm your friend! Aren't I?"

"Of course! I've never met anyone as nice as you..."

"Aww, the other SOLDIERs are just out there to get you. Don't mind them. Sephiroth's a lot of fun, but he doesn't drink, so there's no way to loosen him up."

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Sephiroth quietly trudged up the stairs to his room. Sure, being the General of the most powerful army, and actually the _only _army in the world was great, but not when you had to travel up to the top executive floor without an elevator. His room was on the floor right under President Shinra and his son, Rufus. With a sigh, he remembered how Rufus always barged into his room in the middle of the night for no obvious reason, other than to test Sephiroth's patience.

"Damn sixteen year old," he muttered.

Sephiroth yawned widely, shoving open the door to his room. In his opinion, Cloud seemed to be around Rufus' age. Hopefully, he wouldn't be so obnoxious as Rufus was. Sephiroth wouldn't be able to take it. He'd probably kill Cloud by accident. Or maybe on purpose.

He glanced around the dull room. Nothing special, just a bed, a dresser, a closet door. There was also his own private bathroom. His mind refused to acknowledge the elegance of his room though, as well as it's overly-tidy appearance. He went to the desk nestled in the corner of the room and dropped the pile of papers on it.

"I'm going to regret tonight. I can feel it." He shook his head and left his room, making absolute sure to lock it behind himself. With another sigh, he trudged down the hall and back down to Zack's classroom.

He thought that it was most likely that they would be taking his own expensive car. But he would be the one driving of course, so he really didn't see any problem to that. Last time he had let Zack touch his car, it ended up in the repair shop for a week! Definitely not good for his rather ruined nerves.

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**Author's Note: **_I would really appreciate reviews, especially ones telling me how to make this story better! Was everyone in character? Were there any misspelled words? Grammatical errors? Feel free to tell me! But don't forget to tell me what you liked and didn't like!_

**Author's Note 2:** _This used to be longer. And on a different site. I have to rewrite chapter 2+ because of the lovely computer crash._


	2. Emotionless

**Title:** Opaque  
**Chapter:** Emotionless  
**Author:** Raserei Hojo  
**Summary:** A story of Cloud's relationship with Sephiroth and Zack. Pre-game.  
**Rating:** T (Subject to change)  
**Feedback:** Very much so desired!  
**Story Warnings:** Yaoi  
**Pairings:** Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud  
**Disclaimer:** Any recognizable characters of Final Fantasy VII belong to Squaresoft. Any that are NOT recognizable belong to me.

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"Sephiroth! Can I drive?"

"No," said Sephiroth calmly, although he shoved the key into the ignition and twisted it viciously. "Now shut up before I toss you both out of my car." The general frowned, his head feeling ready to explode.

Cloud and Zack sat motionless in the back seats of Sephiroth's shiny new car. They all hoped that it would remain shiny, for their own sakes. The two younger men watched Sephiroth's narrowed eyes in the rear-view mirror and glanced at each other.

"Well," whispered Zack, "I guess he's pretty ticked off."

"What was your first clue?" Cloud groaned. "Maybe we should get out of his car before he really does throw us into moving traffic?"

Sephiroth grinned at them in the rear-view mirror. "I have two knives and a .45 Caliber Pistol as artillery—and that's just what's hidden in my left pant leg. You can always get out now before I have a good reason to use them. I'm a general—I can make it so that no one even knows you existed."

The threat was enough to quiet Zack down and paralyze Cloud. For fifteen minutes, no one spoke to each other, and the tension in the air grew thick. After what seemed to last several hours for Cloud and Zack, Sephiroth pulled into the parking lot of _Loveless _restaurant and bar.

Zack and Cloud quickly fumbled with the doors and threw them open, stumbling out of the car and glancing at Sephiroth. "We can't let him stay angry all night, especially when he has _weapons_," Zack whispered to Cloud.

"You're his friend, you calm him down!" Cloud edged away from Zack, hoping if the general suddenly snapped he would go for Zack first. After all, they had known each other the longest, and thus Zack would have obviously caused Sephiroth more grief in their lifetime together than Cloud had in a couple of days. Sephiroth stepped out of the car.

"He's your idol, flatter him into being happy!" Zack put his hands roughly on Cloud's shoulders and pushed him forward.

"Honestly," Sephiroth groaned, "do you both think that I'm hard of hearing? My hair may be silver, but that is no indication of my body failing me just yet."

"That's right; you're really old, aren't you?" Zack tilted his head, staring up at Sephiroth with large and innocent eyes. The expression sometimes managed to keep Zack in one piece when Sephiroth was angry, but this time…

"Don't make me shove my katana through you in the middle of the night. I will, Zack."

"Ah, let's just head in, shall we?" Zack took Cloud by the shoulders again and steered him inside the bar. "I wonder what got him so angry?" he whispered to Cloud's ear. "He was only gone a couple of minutes… And he knows how often I joke with him about his hair. Any ideas? Maybe you looked at him too long?"

"I dunno…" Cloud looked around the inside of the bar that looked a bit too elegant to be one of the more typical back ally bars.

The inside was huge and very lavish, beautifully decorated by someone with real talent. The tables were spotless and the waitresses' black dresses and white aprons made them look like maids. In the back, cooks were preparing tasty looking dishes consisting mainly of expensive-looking sirloin in generous servings.

Zack lead Cloud into the back where the bar was located. It was not a disappointing sight, and evenly matched, or perhaps even surpassed, the restaurant section of the building in style and immaculate appearance.

"Just…who's paying for the drinks?" Cloud looked hopefully at Zack.

"What? You didn't bring any money?" Zack roughly elbowed Cloud in the ribs.

"No…" Cloud rubbed his side.

Zack laughed. "I'm paying, of course! And when I run out of money, Sephiroth will pay. Hopefully." He gestured for Cloud to seat himself at a bar stool and ordered two beers.

As the two glasses were delivered to the men, Sephiroth made his way to the bar and casually sat on the stool beside Zack. He said nothing, deciding to idly examine his friend and the rookie.

Zack gratefully took a sip of his beer and peered closely at Sephiroth. "Hey, Seph?"

"Migraine," responded Sephiroth in a monotone.

"Was that why you were aggravated?"

Sephiroth gave a delayed shake of his head. He then paused a waitress to request a glass of water. "Oh, no. You have a tendency to be obnoxious by yourself. And now paired up with this…boy… It was like you were both drunk from the moment you two met."

Zack laughed nervously. "So… We gave you the migraine…?" When Sephiroth made no motion to respond, he added, "I guess the Migraine Faries saw you and went crazy like Cloud. 'Oh Sephiroth! You're so handsome! You're so manly! Oh, God I wanna marry you!' So they gave you an extra helping of migraine."

Unfortunately, Sephiroth was not amused.

"So, uh, Cloud," Zack turned to face the blonde, "how's that beer treating you?"

Cloud, who had not yet taken a sip, was staring at the glass of beer like it was going to turn into a monster and viciously attack him at any second. "Uhm… It's good." Secretly, he thought that it looked like urine. It even smelled like urine.

"Cloud!" said Zack accusingly, "You didn't even drink any yet!"

_Well, _thought Cloud despairingly, _I suppose it couldn't hurt… _

Cloud took a steadying breath, and after he had gathered his courage, he brought the glass to his parted lips and took in the bronze liquid. To his horror, it was very bitter and tasted, perhaps due to his previous assumptions, just like urine. But since Zack and Sephiroth were watching him with opposing expressions, Cloud had no choice but to swallow.

He could feel the iciness of the beer still, but soon the feeling faded and he was left with almost a warm feeling. "It wasn't too bad," murmured Cloud.

"Well, it looks like you won't last very long in the army." Sephiroth shrugged and cracked his neck rather loudly. "After all, caving into peer pressure like that will only get you kicked out."

"Oh, come on, Sephiroth! He's just a kid, let him live a little! You sound like a mother." Zack offered Cloud an encouraging smile. "Don't worry about Seph—he's always like that."

"I'm not saying it out of concern. If he's kicked out of Shinra, then that will be his own fault. And in the long run, that just means one less man in the front lines that will screw up and get killed."

While Cloud shuddered at the unpleasant thought, Zack gave a small frown. "We'd all go crazy if we didn't do something fun once in a while." He turned to Cloud and nodded at the beer. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to, really. I just though you'd enjoy it, you know?"

Cloud laughed nervously. "Oh, I know. It's all right, but it's not anything I'll be too interested in drinking soon. It's kind of bitter…"

"The first sip is always like that. You'll get used to it if you drink a bit more."

"Mm…" Hesitantly, Cloud took another sip, and was surprised to find it really wasn't as bitter as before. "You're right."

"What's even better is that you can't be IDed as long as you've got your Shinra ID with you. Doesn't matter if you're underage, really. It also helps if you're in your uniform."

"Yeah, I was wondering why they didn't grab me the second I walked in. People usually tell me how young I look."

Zack held up his glass. "Well… Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

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The night seemed to fly by; midnight rolled around and it seemed that no more than an hour had passed. By that time, Sephiroth had begun reading _A History of War_ to occupy himself. Page three hundred twenty-seven. He sighed and took a hesitant glance at Zack and Cloud. Their flushed faces and dialogue proved that they were drunk. He slammed the book shut and stood up. "We're leaving."

"What?!" exclaimed Zack. "Why?"

"It's late. We both have work to do, and," Sephiroth gestured to Cloud, "he's completely drunk. He's short and he's skinny, and with our luck he hasn't even eaten."

"C'mon!" Zack laughed heartily, giving Sephiroth a clumsy pat on the shoulder. "Jus' a few more mins, eh?"

"No. We're leaving. _Now._" Sephiroth put his book under his arm and walked towards the door. "I'll leave you two idiots here if I have to."

"All right, sheeze!" Zack slowly dropped to the floor, stretching awkwardly. "If ya had a few drinks with us, ya wouldn't be so sour."

Cloud gingerly stepped off the barstool and stumbled forward, catching onto Zack and using him for support. "I feel…" he shuddered and gave a belch, "…sick…"

Zack straightened Cloud and together they wobbled over to Sephiroth who stood waiting for them at the door. "Ya ruin all the fun in life, ya know that?"

"Shut up. You both are a disgrace to Shinra. Neither of you can even walk straight!"

"Aww, S-Seph, I'm s-sorry!" Cloud offered. "I guess I ki-kinda got uh, maybe a little c-carried away."

"Hm… 'A little,' you say." Sephiroth threw open the door of the _Loveless _restaurant and walked over to the car.

With a bit of difficulty, Zack and Cloud carefully made their way over to the car. Luckily, Cloud only stumbled and fell over once, and Zack was able to lift the younger boy up again.

Once Cloud and Zack were safely in the back seat, Sephiroth told them to buckle themselves in the seatbelts. As a consequence, he had to wait a full five minutes before the two managed to accomplish the task. Sephiroth locked the doors in case they did something stupid, like managing to fall out of the car.

"This is the last time I take either of you to a bar." Sephiroth started the car and carefully drove back towards Shinra HQ.

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For all of the strife Sephiroth had gone through, the night was night quite over yet. Lightning rippled through the sky, accompanied by earth-shaking thunder. And soon, it was if a dam in heaven had broken and sprinkled down on the world.

No, tonight was not a good night for Sephiroth. And to top everything off entirely was a miserable moan and a belch, followed by vomit that spewed all over the leather interior of the back seats. Sephiroth tightened his grip on the steering wheel, telling himself he would be at Shinra HQ soon, and that speeding would only make things worse.

"Are ya okay, Cloud?"

"I still feel sick…"

Zack sighed and rubbed Cloud's back. "Sorry, I didn't realize that ya couldn't hold all that in."

"S'okay…"

"Let it all out; you'll feel better."

Sephiroth slammed on the breaks at the next red light and whirled around in his seat. "Both of you shut up. You're going to clean that mess you made back there, or I'll have you _both _kicked out of Shinra _myself_."

"Seph! He's _sick_."

"Only because you let him drink so much, you idiot." Sephiroth sighed angrily and turned his attention back to the road. Only one more block to go, and then the night would be over.

Thankfully, Zack and Cloud remained relatively quit for the remainder of the journey, and Sephiroth was able to pull into his parking spot at Shinra HQ without any further tribulation. He unlocked the doors and got out of the car. When Zack and Cloud made no move to follow, he wrenched open the back door too.

Cloud was out cold, and Zack was dozing off with a content expression plastered on his face. Having had quite enough of the two boys for the day, Sephiroth slammed the door and left them there. He stuffed his book under his trench coat and trudged tiredly into the building.

At least the rain had done one thing for him; it made him less angry by the time he had gotten to his room at the top of the building, even if it made him wet and cold.

-------------------------------

Cloud rolled over—or rather, tried to roll over—before opening his eyes and staring blearily ahead. The smell of vomit made his stomach lurch, and so he quickly covered his mouth and nose, staring around almost wildly.

Zack was still asleep, part of his leg resting on the now-dry vomit. Every few moments his soft snores filled the air. Cloud struggled to reach the door and clumsily opened it, practically crawling onto the floor and breathing in the fresh air.

Although the ground was damp and a few deep puddles remained speckled along the pavement, the sun was bright and shining high in the sky. In his foggy mind, Cloud thought it was probably somewhere around noon, and hopefully not much later than that.

"What the hell happened…?" He shielded his eyes from the unforgiving sun, trying to ignore the constant pounding of a headache he had for some reason unbeknownst to him. From the protective shade his hand provided, Cloud looked at the car, trying his best to recognize it.

Tentatively, Cloud got to his hands and knees and gripped the car to help him stand straight. "Z-Zack…?" He reached into the back seat and shook the raven-haired man roughly. "Zack, wake up…"

"Mmmph…" Zack threw an arm over his eyes in protest. "Whadya want…?"

"What happened? Why are we out here in this car, and why are we covered in vomit?"

Zack yawned widely and wriggled out from the car, standing just as tentatively as Cloud had before. "You got sick last night, remember?"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. "No. I can't remember that. But I've got this awful headache and—"

"That's not surprising… I did let you drink an awful lot."

Cloud squinted, trying hard to remember. "I do kinda remember this car now…"

Zack quirked a brow and patted the car affectionately. "Yeah, it's Sephiroth's."

"Se—Sephiroth's!?"

Zack nervously laughed and ruffled Cloud's hair. "Of course it's Sephiroth's. It's black and brand new, and it's still very shiny, thankfully. But, ah… I guess we should clean up that mess back there before it _really _ruins the leather."

"Shit…" The memory seemed to have found a way to leak back into Cloud's brain.

"Hm? What's wrong, Cloud?"

"How drunk _were_ we?"

Zack tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, fairly so. You were a lot drunker than I was though."

"…Guess I kinda ruined my chances of him not hating me then?"

Surprisingly, Zack laughed and elbowed Cloud in the ribs. Cloud almost fell over. "Don't worry so much! I'll talk to him, and everything will be fine. He's always a grump, you've gotta know that by now."

Cloud smiled faintly. "I guess, but I did kinda throw up in his car."

"Not to worry, not to worry. Although, I do wish there was a _Cleaning Materia_, don't you think?"

Cloud laughed. "Yeah."

"We'll also need something for that awful smell. Never drink vodka and beer together, my friend."

"I'll remember that."

-------------------------------

Saturday mornings were usually a wonderful opportunity to get work done and then to finally relax until Sunday evening. But that morning, Sephiroth found it almost impossible to throw the blankets off and get out of bed.

His head hurt, his chest felt tight, and he was so tired it felt as though he hadn't even gone to bed. Sephiroth watched his digital clock as the minutes ticked by. 2:17PM, and still he didn't want to get out of bed.

"This is stupid. It's childish to feel this way." He gathered his will and forced himself to sit up. The paperwork he had managed to finish last night was neatly organized and paper clipped together. "At least that's finished."

With a sigh, Sephiroth collapsed into bed again. He wanted to just lie there until Monday. He figured that he was just exhausted from last night, but by 3:00PM, a nasty coughing spell captured him. He cursed afterwards, wondering how he could have gotten ill from the rain in only five minutes.

"Honestly, I'll behead the two of them if I see them today." He buried his face into his pillow, the icy feeling soothing his burning forehead. "Well, at least I have a reason for feeling so horrible this morning…"

Just as he closed his eyes and began to drift into sleep, his cell phone erupted with polyphonic sound. Moodily, he wished that he had never let Zack pick out such a loud ring tone. Nevertheless, Sephiroth groped around for his phone and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Sephiroth!" greeted Zack. "How are you this morning?"

"Aren't you supposed to have a hangover?"

"Nah, it's just a small headache. Cloud and I just finished cleaning your car though. And we wanted to say we're sorry for being such bastards yesterday. But I do admit, it was fun. You really should have joined us."

"Zack, the way I feel this morning, I would be _dead _if I had joined you last night."

There was a gasp from Zack.

"You mean…you're sick?"

"It's just a cold."

"But Sephiroth! You _never _get sick."

"So? You can't go through life not being sick forever."

"Just wait right there! Cloud and I will be your personal attendants for the day. Anything you want, we'll get it!"

"What? No! Zack!" There was no response. "…Hello? Zack?" The dial tone sounded.

Filled with an entirely new determination to get out of bed, Sephiroth got up and ran to the door to lock it. But as he lost precious time searching for the key that locked his door, Zack shoved the door open, nearly hitting Sephiroth, and was carrying a first-aid kit.

"I have a cold. I'm not _dying_."

"Nonsense, Sephiroth. Now back to bed you go! Cloud, will you bring in the rest of the supplies?"

Cloud soon emerged from the hallway, carrying a tray of food from the cafeteria and several glasses of icy cold water. "H-Hey, Sephiroth." He tried to smile as though last night had never happened.

Sephiroth, however, was still not amused by Zack's behavior. "Get _out _of my room, Zack."

"But you're sick! All sick SOLDIERs must be admitted to the infirmary. And since you hate the infirmary, we've got to get you better by Monday!"

Sephiroth groaned and forced his legs to return him to his bed. "The entire world is going to know I've got a cold if you keep talking so loud."

"Well, if you weren't such a Mr. Grumpy-Pants and always putting yourself under so much stress, then maybe I wouldn't have to TALK SO LOUD!"

Sephiroth covered his ears, and Cloud winced in pain.

Zack, however, smiled calmly. "Now… Shall we begin _The Treatment_?"

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**Author's Note: **_Wow… Can you believe it's taken me almost a year to get the inspiration to write this chapter? I'd like to give a special thanks to kazuhiko, who not only reviewed this story, but also sent me a PM asking for me to update it! It was that PM that encouraged me like nothing before. Hopefully, this chapter isn't too disappointing to anyone. My writing style and techniques have changed quite a bit, and I'm afraid it hasn't been for the better. At any rate, please send in reviews and tell me how I can make this story better!_


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